2026-07-15: Can We Talk?
- Cutscene: Can We Talk?
- Cast: Kazusa Motojima, Wakana Oosaka
- Where: Between Shujin Academy's gates and Aoyama-Itchome station
- OOC Date: July 15, 2026
- IC Date: Monday, December 10, 2012 (Before School)
- Summary: After receiving a warning about the new Homunculus that's taken over Shinichi Nagisa, there's someone Kazusa feels like she needs to warn. But this conversation carries its own complications...
Kazusa felt the tension in her shoulders Monday morning. Even with the forewarning about Shinichi, Kazusa wasn't exactly sure what she'd be encountering, and her stomach felt heavy and leaden. But even more than encountering the Homunculus in her classroom, what she had to do next left her hands clammy as she gripped the strap of her schoolbag tighter.
She'd left home early this morning--it wasn't really hard to justify that to herself or her parents. After getting out of the Aoyama-Itchome station she'd stopped halfway between it and Shujin's front gates. Kazusa was leaning against a wall, pretending to look at her phone; it was a little conspicuous, but that didn't matter. The sky was dark and overcast, making the world feel smaller, and more closed-in.
Her eyes kept flicking up to watch the flow of traffic even though her head stayed bowed. And finally, she saw the person she'd been looking for. Wakana, her hair in a short brown bob, with a festive red and green hair clip for the season. Kazusa's chest tightened. They hadn't talked in a couple of months. Oh, they'd exchanged awkward pleasantries here and there, and discussed their routines in club, but all of that had been clipped, abbreviated. Just... business.
But she needed to do something a little bit more, today.
Slipping her phone into her pocket, Kazusa stepped forward. Despite trying to stay calm, her expression was pensive and uncertain, brow knit in concern. "Hey, can... we talk?" After a moment she added, quickly, "I promise it'll be quick."
Wakana stopped short, and Kazusa felt a pang as she watched the surprise and worry play out on her friend's face. "Kazu— Kazusa-san. I… I don't know…"
"This isn't about asking for us to be friends again." Kazusa desperately wished Wakana would, but she knew the role she had played in harming her friend, and… maybe she didn't deserve another chance. That was fine; right now she was more concerned about keeping Wakana safe. "… but it is important. Please?" Her voice strained with the painful need she felt.
Wakana looked into her friend's eyes, then slowly traced down the strap of her bag, back up to the pensive expression Kazusa wore. When she heard the word 'please' Wakana's shoulders relaxed slightly, and she gave a slow nod. "Okay. … if it's quick."
Kazusa let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. "Thank you," she said quietly. "Um…" She inclined her head to where she'd been standing. There was a corner they could duck behind. "How about we step over here?"
The chatter of the busy street faded just a little as Kazusa and Wakana stepped around into the tiny alcove. It took Kazusa a moment to find her words. There were so many things she wanted to say, but she wasn't sure if they would help or hinder, and she shook her head to herself before they could tangle themselves up into an impenetrable knot.
Focus, Kazusa.
"There's a new Homunculus. It's Shinichi Nagisa. Fuyuki-san from class 2-A told me about him."
Wakana let out a choked sob, hand flying to her mouth to try and stifle the sound. She couldn't speak, but her eyes were wide and her body already trembling.
Kazusa's heart twisted painfully in her chest. "No no no—" She rushed forward to reach out to her friend and then stopped herself. "You don't—you don't have to do anything," she said quickly. "Promise. Fuyuki and I are handling this, okay? We're handling it. You don't have to be involved. I just— I thought you deserved to know. I just wanted to warn you. I—I'm sorry."
Internally, Kazusa was kicking herself. She'd thought warning Wakana would be the right thing, but as she watched her friend shake she was suddenly second-guessing the decision. Was it okay to remind her of something painful to try and prevent new, future harm?
All she could do was wait in agonized silence as Wakana took time to recover. Eventually, the other girl started to breathe deeply again, and Kazusa felt the knot in her own chest slowly starting to loosen in kind.
Wakana eventually lowered her hand, but she still couldn't look at Kazusa directly. "Are… a-are you sure…? He already seems… so nice and polite…"
Kazusa gave a quick shake of her head, this time for Wakana's benefit. "His Homunculus isn't like mine was. He's…" She frowned, reaching back into the memory of yesterday's conversation and grimaced. "Fuyuki-san's exact words were 'macho dominant asshole.' I think something happened between him and Fuyuki-san but… we didn't really talk about it."
Wakana was hugging herself, arms wrapped around her stomach. Her shoulders weren't shaking but Kazusa could still see the shiver running through her. "I don't know i-if I can do this again, last time—"
This time Kazusa did step forward, though she didn't reach out. "I know. I know. It shouldn't, okay? If— if you don't know anything that's a threat to him, he shouldn't go after you." Or so Kazusa hoped. "I mean, not for that—" Kazusa couldn't keep the wince out of her expression. "Not for… that reason. He might still… he sounds pretty bad." Kazusa glanced away. "… sorry."
The air between them was tense and silent. Neither girl was quite able to look at the other. Eventually, Wakana broke the silence. "Are… a-are you going to be able to do something… even without Nakao-san…?"
Hazuki's help would have been invaluable. Even just her presence would have been welcome, but Kazusa couldn't voice that thought. She looked down at the ground for a moment. "… we're going to have to. We know what to do. We have people we can ask for help. We'll… we'll help him." Kazusa lifted her gaze again, looking at her long-time (once?) friend. "I know we can't really avoid him, because he's in our class, but I just want—" She hesitated, frantically shuffling the word choice in her head. "… just stay safe, okay?"
The other girl studied Kazusa, warm brown eyes watching how she wasn't quite making eye contact, the signs of tiredness and apprehension in her body language. Wakana opened her mouth to say something but then thought better of it. Instead, she simply said, "… okay. Thank you."
Both girls studied each other for a long moment. A thousand thoughts and questions bubbled up in Kazusa's mind but she pushed them back into the depths. Instead she just nodded. "Welcome. Um…" She made to step around Wakana. "I can go first? If… you'd rather not have to worry about me walking behind you? And you can… take a moment, if you need it?"
Wakana simply nodded and stepped to the side. "Okay," she said quietly.
Kazusa reached the corner they had ducked behind and glanced back to Wakana. "And… if you have any trouble with Nagisa-san…" She looked away, back out to the street. "Talk to Fuyuki-san or Kazuhiro-kun, okay? I'll let them know I sent you their way."
Without waiting for a reply Kazusa stepped back onto the sidewalk and resumed walking towards the school. A few minutes later, Wakana followed suit.